Abound Solar, the defunct solar-panel manufacturer, is under criminal investigation for possible securities fraud, consumer fraud and financial misrepresentation, the Weld County district attorney’s office said Thursday.

Loveland-based Abound closed its Colorado plant in July and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in a move that left 125 workers without jobs and taxpayers holding the bag for up to $60 million in defaulted loans.

The DA’s office said no criminal charges have been filed.

Weld County officials confirmed the existence of an investigation to The Denver Post last week, but Thursday’s announcement provided more detail on the nature of the investigation.

The securities-fraud investigation stems from allegations that “officials at Abound Solar knew products the company was selling were defective, and then asked investors to invest in the company without telling them about the defective products,” the DA’s office said in a news release.

Similarly, the consumer-fraud allegation is that Abound knowingly sold defective panels to customers.

The third subject of investigation is that Abound allegedly misled financial institutions when the company was seeking loans.

Representatives of the company could not be reached for comment.

Abound has become the subject of political controversy over its failure after the U.S. Department of Energy approved up to $400 million in federal loan guarantees for the company.

Abound drew about $70 million in guaranteed loans. The DOE has estimated that U.S. taxpayers will be on the hook for about $40 million to $60 million after Abound’s liquidation.

Abound officials blamed the shutdown on crippling competition from low-cost Chinese manufacturers. But congressional Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner of Colorado, are investigating to determine whether the DOE was aware of Abound’s alleged technical problems before it authorized the loan-guarantee package in 2010.

DOE spokesman Damien LaVera said Thursday that Abound’s loan package was canceled because the company failed to meet “milestones” stipulated in the loan agreement. He would not disclose which benchmarks were missed but said typical guidelines include technological, financial and scheduling measures.

The Weld County DA’s office said its investigation is unrelated to the congressional probe. It said no further information will be released “to protect the integrity of this active and ongoing investigation.”

Abound, formerly known as AVA Solar, was created in 2007 by energy researchers at Colorado State University. The company licensed the technology from CSU and operated independently from the university.

CSU spokesman Mike Hooker said he is not aware of any university officials being under investigation related to Abound.

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